Southeast LA Association of Diabetes Educators

Officer nominations will occur in October. Please think about whether you would like to be a candidate for a Se’LADE officer. Applications will be on the Se’LADE web site. We will have additional information with each newsletter.

When I have been asked how I got involved in diabetes education many years ago, I respond by saying I volunteered as a camp nurse for the diabetes camp at Whispering Pines in Independence, LA. That was in 1985. I met the diabetes educator from Tulane who recruited me to come volunteer at camp and I fell in love with the experience of working with children. At that time, I was a nursing faculty at LSU in the Baccalaureate Program and saw an opportunity for nursing students to learn about diabetes as well. For the next 6 years, I brought nursing students to diabetes camp at Whispering Pines as well as in Leesville, LA. From my camping experiences, I met many other educators and made life long friendships with other camp staff. In 1990, Children’s Hospital was in the beginning stages of developing a diabetes program and I was offered the position as the Diabetes Nurse Coordinator. Throughout the 16 years that I worked at Children’s Hospital, I have had the opportunity to be involved with many families as they struggle with the initial diagnosis of diabetes and support them as their children grow. As coordinator of the program, my responsibilities included both inpatient and outpatient education, community outreach, staff education and clinical research. I had the privilege to work with outstanding endocrinologists, diabetes educators, nutritionists, social workers and psychologists. This team approach was the foundation to the program. During my tenure at Children’s, I developed an Adolescent Peer Support Program which then developed into the Whole Family Outing for Adolescents. This weekend venture was held at Fountainbleau State Park and endured for 8 years. I also provided a Day Camp for Preschoolers with Diabetes for two summers and developed a continuing education/training program for day care workers to take care of preschoolers with diabetes. Following Hurricane Katrina, I continued to work at Children’s for another year. But due to family circumstances and having relocated to the northshore following the storm, I accepted a nursing faculty position in the Baccalaureate program at Southeastern Louisiana University. I continue to provide diabetes education as a certified pump trainer. Throughout my involvement with Se’LADE, I have served as president twice. I have also organized many educational offerings for Se’LADE throughout my tenure. I have also served on the Professional Research and Education Committee and on the Annual Program Committee for AADE for two years and was the RN Provider Unit Coordinator. I currently serve on the Professional Practice Committee for AADE and continue to serve as a continuing education reviewer as well. I look forward to serving our organization as your incoming president and welcome ideas to meet the needs of our membership. I can truly say that my involvement in Se’LADE has provided me with many learning opportunities but more importantly, many lifelong friendships with my colleagues.